Through her 26 years of service to the city of Citrus Heights, Regina Cave, director of the city’s General Service Department, has helped a modern city emerge from its rural, unincorporated heritage. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Time truly flies when you’re doing work you enjoy.

Regina Cave, the city’s general services director, has served the city of Citrus Heights for some 26 years.

In a recent interview, Cave reflected with pride at the city’s steady growth and her own first days as an entry-level office assistant walking through the front doors of the old City Hall building at Fountain Square in the year 2,000. Today, a modernized Dignity Health building stands in its place.

Cave grew up on a dairy farm in Elk Grove before moving to Citrus Heights. She has served as the city’s general service director since October 2021, advancing from previous duties as operations manager and management analyst in her years of service to the city.

In a recent interview Cave characterized the high level of teamwork and camaraderie she’s forged with staff members across each of the city’s three general services divisions, which give her the most satisfaction.

Cave was honored earlier this spring as one of the American Public Works Association’s (APWA) 2026 Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year “for her professionalism, expertise and personal dedication to improving the quality of life in her communities through the advancement of public works services and technology.”

Retirement? Not yet, she said with a smile.

“It’s a privilege to serve the people and the city of Citrus Heights,” she said. “I honestly enjoy coming to work each day, and I truly like the work that I do.”

Cave oversees the city’s Engineering, Community Services, Operations, Facilities and Fleet and Animal Control divisions. Animal Control Services recently transferred from the Citrus Heights Police Department.

In all, she manages more than 30 staff members and contractors and a $15 million operating budget for a city of about 88,000 residents across some 14 square miles.

The city of Citrus Heights is also divided into 11 designated neighborhood areas and Cave meets regularly with community leaders of each neighborhood association to listen to their concerns.

In all, Cave recognizes that she has helped shape nearly every major public works initiative in Citrus Heights since she started in 2000.

From infrastructure and beautification projects to community events and city facilities, Cave’s lasting impact can be seen throughout the city of Citrus Heights.

Cave has skillfully led the city’s general service department through the challenges of a rapidly growing modern city which continues to emerge from its once rural, unincorporated heritage.

Cave recently led the $36 million Auburn Boulevard Phase 2 project, the largest infrastructure project the city of Citrus Heights had ever undertaken, transforming the full length of historic 1.75-mile corridor from a four-lane, arterial roadway into a more pedestrian and bike-oriented corridor with new sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes.

Cave reflected with pride at the city’s steady growth and her own first days as an entry-level office assistant walking through the front doors of the old City Hall building at Fountain Square in the year 2,000. Today, a modernized Dignity Health building stands in its place. Photo courtesy of the City of Citrus Heights

The complex project involved the complete underground placement of all utilities along this portion of Auburn Boulevard and entailed building a median with new turnout lanes which was funded through 15 different sources, consisting mostly of grants from regional partners, and some reserve city funding which was utilized to help match some of the grant funding.

During a recent dedication ceremony Cave presented Citrus Heights City Engineer Leslie Blomquist, PE, TE with a special proclamation of recognition signed by the mayor and city council for her work in the “successful delivery of the Auburn Boulevard Complete Streets Phase II project.”

“I’m proud to continue to work beside her,” she said.

“The city’s general service department has 28 full-time positions including me, plus a part-time intern, a three-quarter time senior facility attendant, and about 10 less than half-time facility attendants who support the Citrus Heights Event Center,” Cave said.

“We also have four vacancies in our engineering division (out of nine positions), so our total count is 24 full-time staff – and that’s not a lot of staff for how much we have responsibility over, and for how much we get accomplished,” she said.

Through the years the city has also had to cope with the challenges of years of deferred road maintenance, while prioritizing public safety and ensuring the effective use of available resources, she said.

The city’s facilities, grounds and fleet division is chiefly responsible for the maintenance of city buildings and other properties, as well as any new construction or remodeling of city-owned facilities, Cave said.

“For example, the Citrus Heights Police Department (CHPD) has 115 vehicles which are used to patrol the entire city. The city’s general services department has to maintain and keep each of these vehicles rolling and plan for their eventual replacement,” she said.

The city’s Three-Year Pavement Preservation Plan, approved in 2023, originally identified 222 streets that needed resurfacing. Following monitoring and coordination with utility companies, that list has since grown to 254 streets, according to city officials.

“We’re also dealing with a considerable amount of pre-existing street infrastructure from before the city’s incorporation,” she said.

More than $50 million is anticipated to be spent in the next two years on 18 infrastructure projects in Citrus Heights, according to the city’s Five-Year-Capital Improvement Program (CIP), according to the city.

The CIP program does not allocate funds and is used as a dynamic planning tool, evolving over time. The city evaluates the list of upcoming projects every two years and presents the Capital Improvement Program report to both the City Council and Planning Commission, according to Cave.

The Public Works and Engineering Division of the city’s General Services Department also focuses primarily on projects and programs that affect the city’s right-of-way including roadways, sidewalks, curb and gutter, and easements for power or telephone lines and drainage facilities.

“In some cases, especially in more rural areas of the city, we’re looking at maps from the 1920s to determine where the actual right of way is,” she said.

Ongoing development project review, drainage and storm water services, street maintenance, traffic investigation and permits for encroachment, street use and transportation are all a part of this division, she said.

Cave also recognized the work of the department’s Community Services Division which is comprised of garbage and recycling services, transit services, streetlight and traffic signal maintenance, customer service support, landscape maintenance, graffiti removal services and grant administration.

Citrus Heights Police Department (CHPD) has 115 individual police vehicles in its fleet used to patrol the entire 14-square mile city which the city’s general service department actively maintains. An example of an early CHPD police cruiser is parked outside the former City Hall building at Fountain Square. Photo courtesy of the City of Citrus Heights

The city’s Beautification Crew, a two-person team and fully stocked truck, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, proactively monitors public spaces, responds to service requests and educates the public. The Beautification Crew also uses SeeClickFix, an app that allows residents to report problems and see real-time resolutions, she said.

“The crew has made a very real difference in improving the cleanliness of the city,” she said.

In 2024, the city’s beautification program was recognized by the League of California Cities, earning the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in Public Works, Infrastructure, Transportation. Service requests may be made using the downloadble “SeeClickFix” app.

For more information about the ongoing duties and responsibilities of the Citrus Heights General Services Department visit: https://www.citrusheights.net/235/General-Services-Department.